41: My backyard's on fire! Who dared to mess with my people?

The return journey was calm and peaceful.

The ambush Chen Du had anticipated did not happen; the atmosphere was as relaxed as a spring outing.

"We're rich, we're rich!"

Second sister Xia Lai was empty-handed, yet she walked with the air of a billionaire, her mechanical arm swinging with impressive force.

"This feeling of zero-dollar shopping is so addictive! If we get a bit more rare metal, we can upgrade thug no. 1 into an Annihilator, and then it'll be one punch for every crybaby!"

"Can you reinforce my katana first?" Xia Mo added coldly. "The current hardness causes the edge to chip when cutting bones; it doesn't feel right."

"Small matter! Leave it to second sister! Whether you want it lengthened or thickened, I can satisfy you~~"

An Nuonuo skipped along behind Chen Du, humming an unknown tune.

She felt that as long as she followed the captain, this apocalypse didn't seem so scary anymore.

However.

When the silhouette of ferry no. 0819 appeared in sight, Chen Du stopped in his tracks.

The cheerful atmosphere came to an abrupt end.

"Something's wrong."

Chen Du narrowed his eyes, his nostrils twitching slightly.

The sea breeze was no longer just salty and fishy; it was mixed with a nauseating stench.

Like the smell of dead fish left to bake in the scorching sun for three days.

More importantly—it was silent!

Li Yaozhi, Zhou Qian, and others left to guard the ship were making no sound at all.

"Something happened." Tang Ran's expression changed drastically, and she prepared to rush forward.

"Wait." Chen Du grabbed her. "Don't rush to your death. Spread out in formation and approach slowly."

Everyone instantly switched to combat mode.

Xia Mo's figure flickered as she slipped into the shadows;

Xia Xin raised the Recurve Bow, her eyes narrowed slightly;

Although An Nuonuo was scared, she obediently hid behind Chen Du, not daring to make a sound.

The closer they got to the Dock, the more the stench assaulted their senses.

The grayish-black side of the hull was covered in thick, dark green liquid, as if slugs had crawled over the ship, leaving disgusting trails.

The deck was in a complete mess.

The drying clothes were torn to shreds, and the defensive wooden spike fence had been violently broken.

Dark red bloodstains and... unidentified yellow liquid remained on the ground.

"Wuu wuu wuu..."

A faint, intermittent crying sound came from the corner.

Chen Du strode onto the deck.

He saw several girls huddled in the corner, their clothes disheveled, faces covered in tears, and eyes unfocused.

At this moment, Zhao Mengmeng's hair looked like a bird's nest.

Her face was covered in soot and tear tracks; she had clearly been scared out of her wits, and even her precious designer bag had been trampled flat.

Seeing Chen Du return, this group looked as if they had seen a savior.

"Waa——!! Captain! You're finally back!"

Zhao Mengmeng burst into tears, not caring if she was dirty, and crawled over to hug Chen Du's leg,

"There are monsters! So many monsters! Green ones... so scary!!"

Chen Du frowned and stepped back slightly, keeping his composure.

"Stop crying for now!"

Zhao Mengmeng choked on her sobs, the crying stuck in her throat, and she blew a snot bubble.

"Where is Li Yaozhi?" Chen Du scanned the area but didn't see the cold Study Committee Member.

"She was... she was taken away!" another girl pointed trembling toward the depths of the port. "And Zhou Qian... several other girls... were all taken away!"

"Those monsters aren't tall, but they are very strong and carry blowpipes..."

Chen Du crouched down, ignoring the girl's sobbing.

He used his finger to dab a bit of the green slime on the ground and rubbed it between his fingertips.

It was fishy and sticky.

At the same time, he felt a scale the size of a fingernail.

Dark green, rough surface, sharp edges.

Hum——!!

Deep in his mind, the 【sacrifice notebook】 vibrated and turned a page.

A line of scarlet, twisted text appeared:

【Detected Sample: Mutant Goblin body fluid and scales】

【Race: Crimson Port · Alchemical Goblin】

【Characteristics: An inferior race that has undergone biological modification; not only do they possess amazing reproductive urges, but they have also been implanted with a will to obey. Their body fluids contain paralytic and hallucinogenic toxins.】

Immediately after, a cold, mechanical notification sound rang in everyone's ears:

【Ding! Hidden mission triggered: Stolen Lambs】

【Mission Description: Rescue all surviving crew members before the forced eviction countdown in Crimson Port ends!】

【Remaining Time: 11:42:58】

【Success Reward: styx ferry · Level 2 permission unlocked, all crew attribute points +1.】

【Failure Penalty: Randomly erase three crew members, and deduct 50% of the host's sanity value.】

Chen Du slowly stood up and pulled Zhao Mengmeng up.

Very good.

Very good.

Stealing from my home, right under my nose.

"Captain... what should we do? Should we..."

Zhao Mengmeng was still crying, her face full of snot and tears. "It's too dangerous here! The Study Committee Member and the others definitely won't come back! Let's leave by ship quickly! Otherwise, those monsters will come back!"

"Yeah... the way those monsters looked at us... it was like they were looking at fresh meat..."

Several other terrified girls nearby echoed her.

"Wuu wuu wuu... I don't want to die... I want to go home..."

"Shut up!"

Deep in Chen Du's eyes, a dark golden wheel of light suddenly spun!

"All of you—shut up!!"

Boom!

A tangible, terrifying pressure centered on Chen Du swept across the entire deck!

【Tyrants Gaze】!

This time, Chen Du did not hold back.

That was not an expression a human should have; it was that of an apex predator looking down on a group of noisy ants.

Zhao Mengmeng's crying stopped instantly.

She widened her eyes, and even that snot bubble burst in fear.

The only sound left on the deck was the whistling of the sea breeze.

"Run away?" Chen Du sneered, his gaze sweeping over everyone's faces. "Li Yaozhi is our Study Committee Member, and there are others."

"In this world, only I can decide their life and death, and only I can bully them."

"Others want to touch my people?"

"Then they better be prepared for their whole family to ascend to heaven!"

"Do you understand?!"

The final roar scared Zhao Mengmeng so much that she sat down on the ground, nodding frantically.

"Nuonuo!" Chen Du shouted in a low voice.

"He-here! Captain, I'm here!"

The Little loli who had been hiding in the back shuddered!

Although she was scared to death, she still bit the bullet and stood out.

"Isn't your nose very sensitive?" Chen Du pointed to the green scale. "Find me the lair of these scumbags!"

"O-okay!" An Nuonuo said without any hesitation.

She closed her eyes, and her 【Child of the Weather】 talent activated.

The surrounding air flow seemed to slow down.

Countless gas molecules formed clear trajectories in her mind.

The smell of the sea, the smell of blood, the smell of gunpowder... and a unique smell of alchemical potions.

A few seconds later, An Nuonuo opened her eyes and pointed toward the depths of the port.

"Over there! In the southeast direction!" An Nuonuo's voice was crisp. "The smell is very strong! And... and there's also the scent of lavender from the Study Committee Member!"

"Well done." Chen Du rubbed her little head.

He turned around and looked at the core personnel behind him who were ready to go.

Since the other side dared to play dirty, he wouldn't blame himself for being ruthless.

"Lin Keke, Wang Jia."

"Here!" the two replied in unison.

"You two stay behind and take care of the other girls."

Chen Du threw a captured katana to Wang Jia. "Protect yourselves! We are ready to set sail at any time!"

"As you command, Captain!" Lin Keke's eyes ignited with a chuunibyou spirit. "This empress will never let the enemy cross the line!"

"Xia Xin, Xia Lai, Xia Mo!"

The triplet sisters stepped forward together, their cool-sister auras fully unleashed.

"You are responsible for the perimeter; defend the ship for me."

Chen Du made a throat-slitting gesture.

"If anyone else dares to come, whether they are human or ghost, just kill them!"

Eldest sister Xia Xin pulled the bowstring to the max and said confidently: "Rest assured! My arrows never miss."

"Tang Ran, Ye Qiu."

"Hmm."

"Search separately! Tang Ran... if anyone dares to block you, just pound them into the ground as fertilizer!"

Tang Ran cracked her knuckles, which made a popping sound: "My hands have been itching for a while; this time I'm going to beat the crap out of these green-skinned monsters!"

Chen Du nodded and finally looked at Little Ai and An Nuonuo.

"As for the three of us... we'll go straight to the dragon's den."

"Tonight, everyone who kidnapped our people must die."

Chen Du turned around and strode down the gangway.

The setting sun stretched his shadow long, like a demon about to be unleashed.

"Let's go!"